CANTON — Full-day kindergarten has been recommended for next school year, a step that would put the town schools in a majority of those in the state.

That recommendation was given to the board of education on Tuesday. The board will host public information forums in November before making a decision in December. Right now, the district has a half-day kindergarten program with the option of an extended-day for children who are chosen in lottery and whose parents pay a $2,500 tuition.

Assistant Superintendent of Schools Jordan Grossman headed a task force that looked at kindergarten and said half-day programs are a minority for Connecticut public schools. Of the 23 districts in the group the state has put Canton in for comparison, just three have half-day programs, Grossman said. In addition to Canton, the other districts are Ellington and Oxford, he said.

"Eighty-four percent of kindergarten students in the state are in full-day programs and that number is increasing," Grossman said.

Kindergarten has been an issue since last winter, when many parents pressed the board to implement a full-day program for this school year. Instead, the board appointed a 16-member task force that included board members, parents and school staff to look at the options.

"We promised that this would be looked at in a professional and thoughtful manner," board Chairwoman Leslee Hill said.

Grossman said a half-day program gives enough time to cover all the academic areas that are in kindergarten and has advantages. But he said the benefits of a full-day make it the way to go. Those include more time for teachers to work with small groups of students along with greater opportunities for social- and play-based learning. Grossman said the task force was also told that a full-day kindergarten program eases the transition to first grade.

Implementing a full-day program is expected to increase costs for the board and Hill said a report on that expense will come when the board meets on Nov. 25.

One concern that was expressed on Tuesday is getting children ready for a full-day program. Board member Laurie McKenna asked how children who are not prepared for it would be identified before they start school. Grossman said if the district goes with a full day for kindergarten school officials will need to focus more on preschool programs in town.